PLUS

James 4:13-17 “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanishth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Acts 8:29-30 “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?”

Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

When I commanded Joint Base Andrews (2016-18), the Air Force Honor Guard fell under my command. These Ceremonial Guardsmen – known for being sharp, crisp, and motionless – were incredible examples of the precision and dedication of Airmen around the world.

They invited me to spend a morning with their Drill Team, and they had a few tricks up their crisply-ironed sleeves. They wanted to train and film me walking the gauntlet – an impressive part of their showy routine. In about an hour, I was ready to go and the end result (using me as a prop) highlights their incredible professionalism:

When they posted it (without my knowledge), it went viral – gaining over 20 million views (including a repost from Snoop Dogg). Yet, there was an interested point I learned during our training.

As they were teaching me to walk with the right cadence, my natural tendency was to slow down. After all, I saw the spinning rifles in front of me – with the bayonet tips traveling at over 40 miles per hour. I didn’t want to get hit by those!

They warned me, however, of an important truth. The rifles were spinning just as fast behind me. And while slowing down might seem safer, it was actually riskier because doing so put me in the danger zone of the threats I couldn’t see.

Jonah didn’t want to follow God to Ninevah, and his delay put him in the danger zone of the great fish that he couldn’t see. The Israelites were too fearful to enter into the Promised Land, and their delay put them in the danger zone of a 4-decade trek through the desert that they couldn’t see.

Delay from God’s plan for our lives might seem safer, but it’s actually riskier because doing so puts us in the danger zone of the threats we can’t see.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO PRESS FORWARD TOWARDS A TIMELY FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S CALLING IN OUR LIVES. Slowing down is too risky for us and for the cause of Christ in our land.

ADMIN: I won’t be publishing a PLUS blog next weekend, but please keep praying faithfully for widespread revival in the United States of America while pressing forward for the cause of Christ in our land!

Matthew 7:3-5 “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?”

I Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

II Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

During a veteran’s tour of the American Cemetery at Normandy in 2010, the tour guide described the proper flag folding procedure after lowering the flag over such hallowed ground. A young man named Salvatore Guinta listened intently. After the instruction, an older man wearing a Korea War Veteran hat walked over and asked Salvatore:

“Don’t you know how to fold an American flag?”

Salvatore responded simply and respectfully: “Yes, sir, I do.”

There was a long pause to follow as a part of the apparent standoff between the older man and the younger one. The leader of the group walked up to the Korean veteran and said these words that put the qualifications of the younger man into crystal clear perspective:

“Sir, I would like you to meet Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta to whom President Obama is going to present the Medal of Honor.”

The older veteran who had judged the younger man by his mere youthful appearance was rightfully humbled. He immediately snapped a salute to Salvatore, quickly reorienting himself and showing the proper respect to one who deserved far more than a negative snap judgment.

God directs us to reorient ourselves in the same way. We are to humbly examine ourselves, paying far more attention to the beam in our own eye than the mote in our brother’s eye. We are to consider the quality of one’s heart without the superficial crutch of relying on our analysis of someone’s countenance, height, or stature. And, while the outward man is perishing, we are to strive to renew our inward man day by day.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BE FAR MORE CONCERNED WITH THE CONSEQUENTIAL THAN THE SUPERFICIAL. And, let’s be far more inclined to snap a salute than snapping judgment.

ADMIN: The story described above comes from “The Hero Next Door” by Martha Raddatz.

Proverbs 4:27 “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Joshua 1:7 “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”

I recently saw a video taken by a young Air Force Lieutenant of the massive tornado that tore through Enid, Oklahoma a few months ago. It was stunning footage. It was also downright dumb! After all, with a huge twister so close, they should have been hunkered down instead of filming.

It reminds me of a phrase often used to describe such Lieutenants. They are said to be all thrust and no vector. They have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but its sometimes not directed in the right way. That could certainly be said of me at that stage of my life.

Have you ever blown up a balloon and then released it?! Much like a Lieutenant, its pathway is characterized by thrust. Yet, its haphazard pathway demonstrates that it lacks a clear, reliable, and steady vector.

It’s not just Lieutenants and balloons!

Sometimes, our lives are characterized by all thrust and no vector. Filled with energy and enthusiasm, we haphazardly wander forward, backwards, to the left, and to the right. We lack a clear, reliable, and steady vector.

The solution isn’t to follow our energy, our emotions, our hearts, our minds, or the latest shiniest thing (or funnel cloud) that captures our attention. Instead, we are to keep our eyes focused on Jesus while seeking Him first. When we do, we will live lives with thrust AND vector, thus charting a path that is clear, reliable, and steady!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO KEEP OUR EYES FOCUSED ON JESUS. Unlike a released balloon or a zealous Lieutenant filming a twister, our lives should be characterized by both thrust and vector.

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I; send me.”

Acts 9:3-6 “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? And he said, Who are thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told three what thou must do.”

Joshua 1:7 “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”

Several Christmas’s ago, our family spent the holidays with my wife’s family in Arizona. It was a full house that included three generations and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. As a part of that time, we played games. And in one of those games, we paired off into two teams – the guys against the gals.

My young nephew Seth was excited to join the guy’s team and wanted to be an active participant. We had the perfect task for him at the perfect time. We asked him to sneak over to the gal’s team while they were writing down an important element of their strategy, and come back and tell us what he saw.

He was on it!

Seth went over, largely ignored as a cute little guy, and dutifully sized up the situation. You could see from our vantage point that he was serious in fulfilling his task. A few minutes later, he came back to our side of the room, excited that we were waiting for him.

I asked: “Seth, what did they have written on their paper?”

He responded: “I don’t know … I can’t read.”

While he was an eager volunteer, he didn’t yet have the skillset we were looking for.

I’ll write about the difference between thrust and vector in next week’s post. But for now, I want to emphasize that we need Christians with thrust. We need eager volunteers who are ready to engage with the world around us on behalf of the Lord our God.

We have too many lackluster Christians who are idly waiting for the perfect time to serve, to minister, and to witness. In the meanwhile, we miss opportunities for influence and squander situations for impact.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BE EAGER AND BOLD VOLUNTEERS IN SERVICE TO THE LORD. We need Christians to say Send Me! We need believers to ask the Lord – what wilt thou have me to do – and then boldly follow Him into the center of His will. We need Christians to be on it!

Joshua 11:15 “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.”

II Timothy 2:2 “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

Joshua 13:1 “Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”

We are all charged with carrying on the legacy of those heroes who have gone on before us. It is part of the multigenerational pathway that is a natural part of God’s plan.

Joshua followed in the footsteps of Moses, who was following the Lord’s direct dictates. But he didn’t just follow along with moderation … he did so diligently, leaving nothing undone that had been passed on through Moses. He did so heartily and completely. He did so with zest and gusto.

We must do the same!

Why? In part because there is much to do. There remaineth yet very much land to possess and God has called us towards complete occupation. Young or old, it is time for us to press forward for the Lord.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FULLY FOLLOW GOD WHILE SEEKING TO POSSESS ALL THE LAND THAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO OCCUPY. We are to leave nothing undone.

ADMIN: I won’t be publishing a PLUS blog next weekend, but please keep praying faithfully for widespread revival in the United States of America while diligently seeking to possess all the land that God has called us to occupy!